Investment News

MSL Capital Markets was the only one out of 100 firms tapped by the regulator for early anti-money laundering (AML) audits to receive a public warning. The MSL warning, issued by the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) on March 12, for failing to supply audit documents on time, followed an AML breach notice slapped on JP… [Read More…]

New Zealand has been rated as less of an anti-money laundering (AML) risk than the Vatican by the US Department of State. In its just-published ‘International narcotics control strategy report’, the US Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs puts NZ under the ‘other jurisdictions monitored’ list – the least problematic of the three… [Read More…]

A new paper published by global think-tank ‘Focusing capital on the long term’ (FCLT) has laid out clear criteria for funds looking to sack underlying asset managers – with short-term performance drift well down the list. According to the just-published FCLT ‘Long term portfolio guide’ http://www.fclt.org/content/dam/fclt/en/ourthinking/FCLT_Long-Term%20Portfolio%20Guide.pdf , well-selected managers “should rarely be fired for short-term… [Read More…]

PIMCO will be rolling out several new fixed income strategies to the retail market, following its decision announced last week to insource retail distribution back from Equity Trustees (EQT), its long-time partner. The world’s biggest bond manager has also strengthened its institutional distribution team. Adrian Stewart, Australian country head, said that PIMCO was in the… [Read More…]

Pinnacle Investment Management will establish an offshore distribution capability following the addition to its line-up of the latest high-profile boutique, Jacob Mitchell’s Antipodes Partners, a global equities and Asian equities manager based in Sydney. Mitchell started his new business last week, with six colleagues and about $200 million under management, inherited, thanks to Pinnacle, through… [Read More…]

All assets except for cash would fall in price if markets return to fair value, according to a new paper published by US-based fund manager, GMO. In the ‘Derisking goes beyond interest rate risk’ report, author Catherine LeGraw suggests institutional investors have underestimated “valuation risk” in their portfolios. “We believe that the biggest risk is… [Read More…]

Australian super fund trustees and executives appear to be getting a bit stroppy about the amount of regulation by which they are governed, which, they mostly believe, will become more onerous over the next 10 years, according to a survey conducted jointly by Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees and custodian BNP Paribas Securities Services. The… [Read More…]

Salt Funds Management has won the reasonably-coveted $600 million AMP Capital New Zealand equities mandate. Following the deal, Salt, spun out of BT Funds Management in 2013, will have funds under management of about $1.3 billion. While the AMP mandate is one of, if not the, biggest New Zealand equities contract put to market, it… [Read More…]

The proposed sale of Trustees Executors (TE) has reached stalemate, according to sources close to the deal. As reported in Australian press in January, UBS put TE out for second-round bids on February 5 with at least three prospective buyers lined up: listed Australian trustee firm, Equity Trustees (EQT); Link Market Services; and, diversified Australian… [Read More…]

The joint venture between SBS subsidiary, Funds Administration New Zealand (FANZ), and Staples Rodway Asset Management (SRAM) will create a collective investment pool of $800 million, according to FANZ chief, Graham Duston. Under the deal announced last week, FANZ will take a 50 per cent share in SRAM, the investment management arm of accounting firm… [Read More…]